Temperature destratification systems

ABSTRACT

A temperature destratification assembly can include an outer housing. An impeller can be positioned within the outer housing between the inlet and outlet of the outer housing. The impeller can have an impeller hub and a plurality of impeller blades extending radially outward from the impeller hub. The assembly can include an impeller motor configured to rotate the impeller blades about an axis of rotation. A stator can be positioned within the outer housing between the impeller and the outlet of the outer housing. The stator can include a plurality of vanes. The stator vanes can include an upstream edge at the upstream end of the stator, a first surface extending from the upstream edge to the downstream edge of the vane, and a second surface opposite the first surface and extending from the upstream edge to the downstream edge of vane. A plurality of the vanes can have a downstream edge at the outlet of the outer housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/648,261, filed Jul. 12, 2017, incorporated in its entirety byreference herein, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/480,285, filed Apr. 5, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,714,663, issued Jul.25, 2017, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/061,951, filed Mar. 4,2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,631,627, issued Apr. 25, 2017, incorporated inits entirety by reference herein, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/365,223, filed Feb. 2, 2012, incorporated in itsentirety by reference herein, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/130,909, filed May 30, 2008, incorporated in itsentirety by reference herein, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/027,039, filed Dec. 30, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,381,129, issued Jun. 3, 2008, incorporated in its entirety byreference herein, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) toU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/553,720 filed Mar. 15, 2004,which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, and said U.S.application Ser. No. 13/365,223 also claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.§ 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/521,270 filedAug. 8, 2011, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to heating, ventilating and airconditioning air spaces, and more particularly to systems, devices andmethods for moving air in a columnar pattern with minimal lateraldispersion that are particularly suitable for penetrating air spaces andair temperature de-stratification.

Description of the Related Art

The rise of warmer air and the sinking of colder air creates significantvariation in air temperatures between the ceiling and floor of buildingswith conventional heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.Such air temperature stratification is particularly problematic in largespaces with high ceilings such as warehouses, gymnasiums, offices,auditoriums, hangers, commercial buildings, and even residences withcathedral ceilings, and can significantly decrease heating and airconditioning costs. Further, both low and high ceiling rooms can havestagnant or dead air. For standard ceiling heights with duct outlets inthe ceiling there is a sharp rise in ceiling temperatures when the heatcomes on.

One proposed solution to air temperature stratification is a ceilingfan. Ceiling fans are relatively large rotary fans, with a plurality ofblades, mounted near the ceiling. The blades of a ceiling fan have aflat or airfoil shape. The blades have a lift component that pushes airupwards or downwards, depending on the direction of rotation, and a dragcomponent that pushes the air tangentially. The drag component causestangential or centrifugal flow so that the air being pushed diverges orspreads out. Conventional ceiling fans are generally ineffective as anair de-stratification device in relatively high ceiling rooms becausethe air pushed by conventional ceiling fans is not maintained in acolumnar pattern from the ceiling to the floor, and often disperses ordiffuses well above the floor.

Another proposed solution to air temperature stratification is a fanconnected to a vertical tube that extends substantially from the ceilingto the floor. The fan may be mounted near the ceiling, near the floor orin between. This type of device may push cooler air up from the floor tothe ceiling or warmer air down from the ceiling to the floor. Suchdevices, when located away from the walls in an open space in abuilding, interfere with floorspace use and are not aestheticallypleasing. When confined to locations only along the walls of an openspace, such devices may not effectively circulate air near the center ofthe open space. Examples of fans connected to vertical tubes aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,342 to Hughes, and U.S. Pat. No.3,973,479 to Whiteley.

A device that provides a column of air that has little or no diffusionfrom the ceiling the floor, without a vertical tube, can effectivelyprovide air de-stratification. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,473,000 and 4,662,912 toPerkins disclose a device having a housing, with a rotating impellerhaving blades in the top of the housing and a plurality of interspersedsmall and large, vertically extending, radial stationary vanes spacedbelow the impeller in the housing. The device disclosed by Perkins isintended to direct the air in a more clearly defined pattern and reducedispersion. Perkins, however, does not disclose the importance of aspecific, relatively small gap between the impeller blades and thestationary vanes, and the device illustrated creates a vortex andturbulence due to a large gap and centrifugal air flow bouncing off theinner walls of the housing between the blades and vanes. Perkins alsodiscloses a tapering vane section. The tapering vane section increasesvelocity of the exiting air stream.

A device with a rotary fan that minimizes the rotary component of theair flow while maximizing the axial air flow quantity and velocity canprovide a column of air that flows from a high ceiling to a floor in acolumnar pattern with minimal lateral dispersion that does not require aphysical transporting tube. Such a device should reduce the energy lossby minimizing the rotary component of the air flow, and thereforeminimizes turbulence. Such a device should minimize back pressure, sincea pressure drop at the outlet of the device will cause expansion,velocity loss and lateral dispersion. The device should have minimumnoise and low electric power requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A temperature destratification assembly can include an outer housing.The outer housing can have an inlet, an outlet, and an inner wall. Theassembly can include an impeller positioned within the outer housingbetween the inlet and outlet of the outer housing. In some embodiments,the impeller has an impeller hub and a plurality of impeller bladesextending radially outward from the impeller hub. The destratificationassembly can include an impeller motor configured to rotate the impellerblades about an axis of rotation. In some embodiments, thedestratification assembly includes a stator positioned within the outerhousing between the impeller and the outlet of the outer housing. Thestator can include an upstream end and a downstream end. In someembodiments, the stator includes a plurality of vanes, every vane of thestator having an upstream edge at the upstream end of the stator, adownstream edge, a first surface extending from the upstream edge to thedownstream edge of the vane, and a second surface opposite the firstsurface and extending from the upstream edge to the downstream edge ofvane. In some embodiments, the downstream edge of one or more of theplurality of the vanes is at the outlet of the outer housing.

In some embodiments, the impeller hub is hollow.

In some embodiments, one or more of the plurality of the vanes extendfurther inward toward the axis of rotation than the impeller blades.

In some embodiments, two or more of the plurality of vanes are connectedto each other at the downstream end of the plurality of vanes.

In some embodiments, a downstream edge of at least one of the pluralityof vanes is positioned between the impeller and the outlet of thehousing.

In some embodiments, the outer housing includes an outer surface, andwherein the outer surface of the outer housing is narrower at the outletthan at the inlet.

In some embodiments, an upstream portion of each vane is curved and adownstream portion of each vane is straight and parallel with the axisof rotation.

In some embodiments, the destratification assembly includes a pluralityof stator flow passages extending from the upstream end of the statortoward the downstream end of the stator, wherein each of the stator flowpassages is free from obstruction from vane leading edges.

According to some variants, a temperature destratification assembly caninclude a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and an inner surfaceextending from the inlet to the outlet. The assembly can include animpeller positioned within the housing between the inlet and the outlet.In some embodiments, the impeller includes an impeller hub and aplurality of impeller blades extending from the impeller hub toward theinner surface of the housing. Each impeller blade can have an upstreamedge and a downstream edge. In some embodiments, the destratificationassembly includes an impeller motor configured to rotate the impellerhub about an axis of rotation. The assembly can include a statorassembly positioned downstream of the impeller. In some embodiments, thestator assembly includes a plurality of vanes extending along a majorityof a distance between the impeller and the outlet of the housing. Eachof the plurality of vanes can have an upstream vane edge adjacent thedownstream edge of an impeller blade, a downstream vane edge oppositethe upstream vane edge, a first face extending from the upstream vaneedge to the downstream vane edge, and a second face opposite the firstface and extending from the upstream vane edge to the downstream vaneedge. In some embodiments, each of the first and second faces of theplurality of vanes has an upstream portion and a downstream portion. Insome embodiments, the downstream portions of each of the first andsecond faces are uninterrupted.

In some embodiments, the impeller hub is hollow.

In some embodiments, the plurality of vanes extend further inward towardthe axis of rotation than the impeller blades.

In some embodiments, the plurality of vanes are connected to each otherat the downstream edge of the plurality of vanes.

In some embodiments, the outer housing includes an outer surface. Insome embodiments, the outer surface of the outer housing is narrower atthe outlet than at the inlet.

In some embodiments, an upstream portion of each vane is curved and adownstream portion of each vane is straight and parallel with the axisof rotation.

According to some variants, a temperature destratification assembly caninclude an outer housing having an inlet, an outlet, and an inner wall.The destratification assembly can include an impeller positioned withinthe outer housing between the inlet and outlet of the outer housing, theimpeller having a plurality of impeller blades. In some embodiments, theassembly includes an impeller motor configured to rotate the impellerblades about an axis of rotation. The assembly can include a statorpositioned within the outer housing between the impeller and the outletof the outer housing. In some embodiments, the stator has an upstreamend, a downstream end, a stator hub, a plurality of stator vanesconnected to the stator hub and extending radially outward therefrom, aplurality of inlets at the upstream end of the stator, and a pluralityof outlets at the downstream end of the stator. In some embodiments, thestator includes at least as many inlets as outlets.

In some embodiments, the inner wall is a smooth uninterrupted surface.

In some embodiments, the stator comprises more inlets than outlets.

In some embodiments, the stator hub tapers toward the axis of rotationfrom an upstream end of the stator hub to a downstream end of the statorhub.

In some embodiments, the outer housing tapers inward toward the axis ofrotation between the upstream end of the stator and the downstream endof the stator.

In some embodiments, the stator hub is cylindrical

An air moving device which has a housing with an air inlet and an airoutlet spaced from the inlet. A rotary impeller with a plurality ofblades is mounted in the housing at the air inlet end and produces airflow with an axial component and a rotary component. A plurality ofspaced, longitudinally extending, radial air guide vanes in the housingdownstream of the impeller are in close proximity to the impeller bladesto minimize the rotary component and change the air flow to a laminarand axial flow in the housing that exits the outlet end in a columnarpattern with minimal lateral dispersion. A method of moving air includesproducing an air flow through a housing, and directing the air flowthrough the housing in a laminar and axial flow and exits an outlet soas to produce a columnar pattern with minimal lateral dispersion. Themethod also includes directing warm air from near the ceiling toward thefloor, allowing the heat from the warm air to be stored in the floor,articles on the floor and the earth under the floor. The method includesdirecting air in a generally horizontal direction to allow penetrationof an air space in a container, trailer truck or a room to promoteflushing of that air space and circulation thereof. The device andmethod are particularly suitable for high efficiency, low power usage,air temperature de-stratification, and to improve air quality andcirculation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Details of this invention are described in connection with theaccompanying drawings that bear similar reference numerals in which:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of an air moving device embodyingfeatures of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the device 5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2, with straightupstream portions of the vanes.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the device of FIG. 1 showing angulardirection of the device.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, partial exploded view of the hangar attachment ofthe device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a room with the device of FIG. 1 showing anair flow pattern with dashed lines and arrows.

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view, partially cut away, showing the deviceof FIG. 1 modified for attachment to a light can.

FIG. 11A is a sectional view taken along line 11A-11A of FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is a side elevation view of the device of FIG. 1 with an intakegrill.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2 of the deviceof FIG. 1 with a misting nozzle.

FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of the device of FIG. 1 in combinationwith a tube and second air moving device.

FIG. 15 is a bottom perspective view, partially cut away, showing thedevice of FIG. 1 mounted in a drop ceiling.

FIG. 15A is a top perspective view of FIG. 15.

FIG. 15B is a top perspective view of the fastening member shown in FIG.15A

FIG. 15C is a sectional view taken along FIG. 15C-15C of FIG. 15A.

FIG. 15D is a sectional view along line 15D-15D of FIG. 15A.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a side elevation view, partially cut away, showing the deviceof FIG. 1 modified for attachment to a light socket and having a lightbulb at the lower end.

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of an open sided tent with an air movingdevice in the top.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of a shipping container with an air movingdevice at one lower end.

FIGS. 20-24 are schematic representations of a plurality of air movingdevices used to create a cascading airflow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 9, there is shown an air moving device 12having an elongated outer housing 13, an electric rotary fan 14 in thehousing for producing air flow in the housing and a plurality oflongitudinally extending, outer radial vanes 15 and an inner housing hub16 opposite the vanes in the housing downstream of the fan for directingair flow in the housing.

The housing 13 has a circular cross section, and an open first end 17and an open second end 18 spaced from the first end 17. In theillustrated embodiment, a detachable, axially outwardly convex cowling19 forms the first end 17 and provides an air inlet 21 with a diameterslightly smaller than the outer diameter of the cowling 19.

The housing 13 has a first section 25 extending from the cowling 19 toan interior shelf 26. A generally C shaped hanger 23 mounts at oppositeends 24 to opposite sides of the housing 13 at the upper end of thefirst section 25, for mounting the air moving device 12 to a support.The first section 25, when viewed from the side, has a curved, slightlyradially outwardly convex shape that conforms to the curvature of thecowling 19. The shelf 26 extends radially inwardly to join with theupstream end of a second section 27. The second section 27 tapersinwardly and extends axially from the shelf 26 to the second end 18along a smooth curve that goes from radially outwardly convex near theshelf 26 to radially outwardly concave near the second end 18. Thesecond end 18 forms an air outlet 28 that has a smaller diameter thanthe air inlet 21. A plurality of circumferentially spaced external fins29 extend from the shelf 26 to the second section 27 to provide theappearance of a smooth curve from the air inlet 21 to the air outlet 28when the housing 13 is viewed from the side.

The fan 14 includes an impeller 31 having a cylindrical, inner impellerhub 32, with an electric motor 34 therein, and a plurality of rigidlymounted, circumferentially spaced blades 33 extending radially from theimpeller hub 32. In the illustrated embodiment the impeller 31 has threeequally spaced blades 33 and rotates about an axis in acounter-clockwise direction when viewed from above. Each blade 33, inside view, extends from an upstream edge 35, downwardly and leftwardlyto a downstream edge 36 with each blade 33 being slightly concave, in anairfoil or wing shape, downwardly to propel air rightwardly as shown bythe arrow. Each blade 33 then inclines at a selected angle to the axisof rotation of the impeller. Each blade 33 shown extends axially andradially toward the outlet or second end 18 to direct air axially with arotary component. If the motor 34 runs in the opposite direction, theincline of the blades 33 would be reversed. The fan 14 includes astationary cylindrical mounting ring 38 that extends around the blades33, with the impeller hub 32 being rotably mounted relative to themounting ring 38. The mounting ring 38 has spaced, protruding upstreamand downstream rims 40 and 41. The fan 14 mounts in the housing 13between the cowling 19 and the shelf 26.

Each of the vanes 15 is identical and includes upstream portion 43 and adownstream portion 44. The upstream portion 43 is carried in a stator46. The stator 46 has a cylindrical stator hub 47 with a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of the impeller hub 32.

The upstream portions 43 of the vanes 15 are mounted in acircumferentially spaced arrangement around the stator hub 47, andextend longitudinally along and radially from the stator hub 47. Eachupstream portion 43 has an upstream end 48 and a downstream end 49. Asupport body 50 includes a cylindrical stator ring 52 that extendsaround the upstream portions 43 and connects to the outer ends of theupstream portions 43 of the vanes 15 near the upstream ends 48. Thesupport body 50 also includes a protruding stator rim 53 that issubstantially planar with the upstream ends 48 of the upstream portions43 of the vanes 15, and that connects to the stator ring 52 and extendsradially outwardly therefrom.

The housing 13 has, an inner surface and the inner housing hub 16 has anouter surface concentric with a spaced from the housing inner surface todefine an air flow passage through the housing. The inner housing hub 16includes the fan hub 32, stator hub portion 47 and downstream hubportion 57, each having an outer surface and arranged end to end alongthe center of the housing and opposite and spaced from the housing innersurface to define the air flow passage. In particular, these outersurfaces shown are cylindrical and substantially the same diameter for asubstantial portion of the passage and as the housing 13 converges thedownstream hub portion 57 converges to generally follow the curvature ofthe inside surface of the housing.

The stator 46 nests in and is separable from the housing 13 with thestator rim 53 between the shelf 26 of the housing 13 and the downstreamrim 41 of the mounting ring 38 of the fan 14, and with a gap 55 having aselected size between the downstream edge 36 of the blades 33 of theimpeller 31 and the upstream ends 49 of the upstream portions 43 of thevanes 15. If the gap 55 is too large, turbulence will be generated inthe air flow between the impeller 31 and the vanes 15, reducing thevelocity of the air flow. If the gap 55 is too small, fluid shear stresswill generate noise. The size of the gap 55 is generally selected as nogreater than a maximum selected dimension to avoid turbulence and noless than a selected minimum dimension to avoid noise, and moreparticularly selected as small as possible without generating noise.

The selected size of the gap 55 is generally proportional to thediameter of the impeller 31 and may further be affected by the speed ofthe impeller 31. The following are examples: For an impeller 31 with adiameter of 6.00″, at 1800 rpm, the maximum size of the gap 55 should be1.25″ and the minimum gap should be 0.2″. For an impeller 31 with adiameter of 8.5″, at 1400 rpm, the maximum size of the gap 55 should be1.25″, and the minimum gap should be 0.2″ but could be 0.020 for lowerrpm's as the size of the gap is rpm dependent. Generally, the maximumsize of the gap 55 should be less than one half the diameter of theimpeller 31.

In the illustrated embodiment, eight equally spaced upstream portions 43of the vanes 15 are provided, and when viewed from the side, theupstream portions 43 of the vanes 15 extend straight upwardly from thedownstream ends 49 and then curve leftwardly near the upstream ends 48.The upstream portion 43 of each curved vane portion is inclined at anangle opposite the incline of the blade 33 that extends axially andradially inward toward the outlet or second end 28 to assist inconverting the rotary component of the air flow into laminar and axialflow in the housing.

Straight upstream portions 43A of the vanes 15 may also be used, asshown in FIG. 7, and other numbers of vanes 15 may be used. Further, ifthe motor 34 runs in the opposite direction, the incline of thecurvature near the upstream ends 48 would be reversed.

The downstream portions 44 of the vanes 15 attach at an inner end to adownstream inner housing hub portion 57, are circumferentially spacedand extend radially outwardly from the housing hub portion 57 to thehousing 13. The housing hub portion 57 and the downstream portions 44 ofthe vanes 15 extend axially from the stator 46 to or near the air outlet28. The housing hub portion 57 has a circular cross section, has adiameter substantially equal to the diameter of the stator housing hubportion 47 at the upstream end adjacent to the stator housing hubportion 47, and tapers downstream to a point 58 near the air outlet 28.

This hub portion may be characterized as torpedo shaped. In theillustrated embodiment there are four downstream portions 44 of thevanes 15 circumferentially spaced at 90 degrees, with each downstreamportion 44 being aligned with an upstream portion 43 of a vane 15. Othernumbers of downstream portions 44 of the vanes 15 can be used.

The number of the blades 33 may be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8. The number ofthe vanes 15 may be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8. The number of vanes 15 shouldbe different from the number of blades 33. If the number of vanes 15 andblades 33 are the same, added noise is generated due to harmonics.

The air moving device 12 discharges air at a high velocity in agenerally axial flow having a columnar pattern with minimal lateraldispersion after exiting the air outlet 28. The cowling 19 extends alonga curve toward the inside to reduce turbulence and noise for air flowentering the air inlet 21. The impeller hub 32, the stator hub 47 andthe housing hub 57 form the inner housing hub 16. The taper of thehousing hub 57 generally follows the taper of the housing 13 So that thecross sectional area for air flow decreases about 10% to 35% through theair moving device 12 to avoid back pressure and at the same timeincrease air flow velocity. In the embodiment shown the air flowdecreases about 22%.

The vanes 15 convert the rotary component of the air flow from theimpeller 31 into laminar and axial air flow in the housing. The leftwardcurve of the upstream ends 48 of the upstream portions 43 of the vanes15, in the illustrated embodiment, reduces the energy loss in theconversion of the rotary component of the air flow from the impeller 31into laminar and axial air flow in the housing. The small gap 55 betweenthe impeller 31 and vanes 15 prevents the generation of turbulence inthe air flow in the gap 55. The taper of the housing 13 in combinationwith the taper of the housing hub 57 to the point 58 allows the air flowto exit the air outlet 28 in a continuous, uninterrupted columnarpattern with minimal dispersion, with no center hole or gap at a linearspeed greater than would be imparted by a fan alone. The inside surfaceof the housing 13 is a substantially smooth uninterrupted surface tominimize turbulence and energy loss.

The hanger 23 is mounted to rotate and lock relative to the housing 13,so that when the hanger 23 is attached to an overhead support such asceiling, the air flow from the air moving device 12 may be directedvertically or aimed at any selected angle from the vertical as shown inFIG. 8. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the first section 25 of the housing13 includes mounting tabs 91 on opposite sides on the upper edge of thefirst section 25. Each mounting tab 91 includes a round, outwardlydirected mounting face 92, and a housing aperture 93 that extendsinwardly through the center of the mounting tab 91. A pair of outwardlyprojecting housing ridges 94 extend radially on the mounting face 92 onopposite sides of the housing aperture 93.

Each end 24 of the hanger 23 has a round, inwardly facing hanger endface 96, similar in size to the mounting face 92 on the housing 13. Ahanger end aperture 97 extends through the center of the hanger end face96. A plurality of spaced, radially extending grooves 98, sized toreceive the housing ridges 94, are provided on each hanger end face 96.Bolt 100 extends through the hanger end aperture 97 and threads into aninternally threaded cylindrical insert 101, rigidly affixed in housingaperture 93. The angle of the housing 13 is chosen by selecting a pairof opposed grooves 97 on each hanger end 24 to receive the housingridges 94. The pivotal arrangement enables the housing to move to aselected angle and is lockable at the selected angle to direct air flowat the selected angle.

FIG. 10 shows an air moving device 12 mounted to the 13 ceiling 62 of aroom 63 shown as being closed sided with opposed side walls. Warm airnear the ceiling 62 is pulled into the air moving device 12. The warmair exits the air moving device 12 in a column 64 that extends to thefloor 65. When the column 64 reaches the floor 65, the warm air from theceiling pushes the colder air at the floor 65 outward towards theopposed side walls 66 and upward towards the ceiling 62. When the column64 reaches the floor 65, the warm air from the ceiling will alsotransfer heat into the floor 65, so that heat is stored in the floor 65.The stored heat is released when the ceiling is cooler than the floor.The heat may also be stored in articles on the floor and earth under thefloor. The air moving device 12 destratifies the air in a room 63without requiring the imperforate physical tube of many prior knowndevices. The air moving device 12 destratifies the air in a room 63 withthe warmer air from the ceiling 62 minimally dispersing before reachingthe floor 65, unlike many other prior known devices. The air movingdevice 12 will also remove dead air anywhere in the room. It isunderstood that the air moving device 12 may also be mountedhorizontally in a container, trailer truck or room as is describehereafter.

Referring to FIG. 11, an air moving device 12 is fitted with an inletgrill 68 and an electric connector 69 for attachment to a light can 70with a light bulb socket 71 at the upper end. The inlet grill 68includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced grill fins 72 thatattach to the first end 17 of the housing 13. The grill fins 72 areseparated by air intake slots 73, and extend axially outwardly from thefirst end 17 and curve radially inwardly and are integral with a flatcircular mounting plate 74 that is substantially parallel with the firstend 17. The electrical connector 69 has a tube 76 that is integral atone end with the center of the mounting plate 74 and extends axiallytherefrom, and a light bulb type, right hand thread externally threadedmale end 77 attached to the other end of the shaft 78. Grill 68, plate74 and tube 76 are shown as made of a one piece construction. Plate 74has holes that received screws 83 or like fasteners to fasten plate 74to ceiling 62.

The shaft 78 telescopes in the tube 76. The tube 76 has a pair ofopposed keyways 76A that receive keys 78A on the shaft 78 which allowaxial sliding movement of the shaft 78 in the tube 76. A compressionspring 75 fits in the tube and bears against the bottom of shaft 78 andtop of plate 74. Preferably the shaft 78 has a selected length relativeto the length of the can 70 such that when the air moving device 12 ismounted in a can 70 in a ceiling 62, the threaded male end 77 engagesthe socket 71 before the mounting plate 74 contacts the ceiling 62 andwhen the threaded male end 77 is screwed into the socket 71, themounting plate 74 bears against the ceiling 62. The spring 75 iscompressed between plate 74 and shaft 78. Screws 83 fasten the plate tothe ceiling 62. Since the light can 70 may be open to air above theceiling 62, the mounting plate 74 is preferably sized to cover the openlower end of the can 70, so that only air from below the ceiling 62 isdrawn into the air moving device 12. The air moving device 12 fittedwith the inlet grill 68 and the electrical connector 69 can also be usedwith a ceiling light socket.

The air moving device 12 may include an intake grill 79 for preventingobjects from entering the impeller 31, as shown in FIG. 12. The intakegrill 79 shown has a substantially hemispherical shape, and includes aplurality of circumferentially spaced grill fins 80 separated by intakeslots 81. The grill fins 80 extend axially outwardly and curve radiallyinwardly from the first end 17 of the housing 13 to a central point 82spaced from the first end 17. Other shapes of intake grills are suitablefor the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows an air moving device 12 with a misting nozzle 84. Thenozzle 84 extends through the point 58 of the housing hub 57 to spraywater into the column of air exiting the air outlet 28 to cool the airthrough evaporation. The media exiting the nozzle 84 and being suppliedthrough tube 85 can have other purposes such as a disinfectant or afragrance or a blocking agent for distinctive needs. The nozzle 84connects to a water line 85, in the housing hub 59 that connects to awater source (not shown).

FIG. 14 shows an air moving system 86 for use in buildings with veryhigh ceilings, including an air moving device 12, an upwardly extending,tube 87 (shown cut away) connected at a lower end to the air inlet 21 ofthe air moving device 12, and a truncated upper air moving device 88having an air outlet 89 connected to the upper end of the tube 87. Thehousing of device 88 is called truncated because it may be shortened orcut off below the fins 29. A conventional air moving device 12 may beused for device 88. The tube 87 may be flexible and is preferably fireresistant. The air moving system 86 is mounted to a ceiling or likesupport with the air outlet 28 of the air moving device 12 spaced abovethe floor, preferably about 10 to 50 feet. The tube may be for examplefrom 30 to 100 feet long.

The upper air moving device 88 at the top of the system 86 has a higherair moving flow capacity than the air moving device 12 at the bottom ofthe cascading system 86. By way of example, and not as a limitation, theupper air moving device 88 may have a capacity of 800 cfm and the airmoving device 12 may have a capacity of 550 cfm.

FIGS. 15, 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D and 16 show the air moving device 12mounted in an opening 103 in a ceiling 104. A generally cylindrical can105 mounts on and extends above the ceiling 104, and has an open canbottom 106, and a closed can top 107. The can top 107 includes asemi-circular, downward opening, circumferentially extending channel108. A semi-circular fin 111 extends radially across the channel 108 toprevent swirling of the air before entering the air inlet 21. Additionalfins may be used. A grill and support assembly 125 mounts to the ceilingand extends and connects to the exterior of the housing of device 12. Agrill including spaced openings 110 between fins 109 to allow air toflow up from the room along the housing and past the cowling 19 into theinlet 21. The grill and support assembly 125 includes an outer ring 120fastened to the underside of the ceiling including the convexly curvedgrill fins 109 with air openings 110 between connected outer ring 120and an inner ring 121. Ring 121 has a spherical concave inner bearingsurface 122.

A ring 123 has a spherical convexly curved exterior bearing surface 124is mounted on and affixed to the housing with bearing surfaces 122 and124 mating in a frictional fit to support the housing to be at avertical position or tilted at an angle to the vertical axis and be heldby friction at the vertical axis or a selected angle relative to thevertical axis to direct air flow as required.

The can 105 has an outwardly extending bottom flange 140 that fitsagainst the underside of the ceiling 104. The can 105 preferably hasfour circumferentially spaced bottom openings 141 at 90 degree intervalsthat are rectangular in shape and extend up the can wall a shortdistance from the bottom flange 140. A clamping member 142 preferablymade as a molded plastic body has a main body portion 143 above theceiling 104 outside the can wall and an end flange portion 144 that fitsinside the can opening 142. The main body portion 143 has a U-shapedouter wall portion 145 and an inner hub portion 146 having an aperture147. The clamping member 142 inserts into the opening 141 via the openend of the can. A bolt fastener 151 extends through a hole in theflange, through a hole in the ceiling and threads into the aperture 147in the main body portion to clamp the can 105 to the ceiling 104.

As shown in FIG. 15D the grill and support assembly 125 is mounted tothe ceiling 104 and can 105 by a bolt fastener 149 extending through anaperture in ring 120, through the ceiling 104 and into a nut 150 inflange 140 in the can. Preferably there are four bolt fasteners 149 at90 degree intervals midway between fasteners 151 above described. Theceiling 104 typically would be a plasterboard ceiling in which asuitable hole is cut. A variation of FIG. 15 would be to extend or formthe peripheral of outer ring 120 into a flat panel having a dimension of2 ft. by 2 ft. that would fit in and be held by a grid that holds aconventional ceiling panel.

Referring to FIG. 17, an air moving device is fitted with an inlet grill113, a light bulb style threaded male end 114 for threading into a lightbulb socket, and a light bulb socket 115. The inlet grill 113 includes aplurality of circumferentially spaced grill fins 116 that attach to thefirst end of the housing 13. The grill fins 116 are separated by airintake slots 117, and extend axially outwardly from the first end 17 andcurve radially inwardly to a flat circular mounting plate 118 that issubstantially parallel with and spaced axially from the first end 17.Threaded male end 114 is mounted on and extends upwardly from themounting plate 118. The socket 115 is mounted inside the housing 13 in adownwardly opening fashion so that light from a bulb 119 threaded intothe socket 115 is directed downwards.

Referring now to FIG. 18, there is shown a tent having an inclined top132 extending down from an apex and connected at the lower end to avertical side wall 131 and terminating above a floor 133 to provide aside opening 134 so that the tent is an open sided room. The air movingdevice 12 is mounted below the top apex and directs the air in the roomdownwardly in a columnar pattern to the floor and along the floor andthen back with some air passing in and out the side openings 134 alongthe floor 133. For wide tents, the air will pass up before it reachesthe side walls.

The air moving device and system herein described has relatively lowelectrical power requirement. A typical fan motor is 35 watts at 1600rpm for an impeller of 8.5″ that will effectively move the air from theceiling to the floor in a room having a ceiling height of 30 ft. Anotherexample is 75 watts with an impeller diameter 8.5″ at 2300 rpm in a roomhaving a ceiling height of 70 ft.

Referring now to FIG. 19, there is shown a shipping container 161 havingan air moving device 12 disposed horizontally in the lower left end. Thedevice 12 directs the air horizontally along the bottom wall or floor,up the opposite side wall and across the top wall to exit an outlet duct162 above and spaced from the device 12 of the air moving device. Thedevice 12 will penetrate the air and promote flushing and circulation ofthe air space. The device 12 may be mounted to direct the air generallyhorizontally or up or down at an angle to the true horizontal. Thisarrangement may be provided in other air spaces such as a trailer truck,room or the like.

It is understood that the stator 46 and housing 13 could be made as asingle unit. It is also understood that the housing 13 may be made intwo sections as for example a tubular section of a selected length maybe added to the end of a truncated devices as shown in FIG. 14.

Further to the discussion above, and referring to FIGS. 20-25, in someembodiments a plurality of the air moving devices 12 described above canbe used to create a cascading flow of air from one location to a secondlocation. For example, with reference to FIG. 20, in some embodiments aplurality of air moving devices 12 can be positioned at or near theceiling of a room or roof of a building. Alternatively or in addition,the air moving devices can be positioned within 4 feet of the floor,within 8 feet of a floor, within 12 feet of a floor or greater than 12feet from the floor. The air moving devices 12 can be distanced apartfrom one another. The distances between the air moving devices 12 canvary. In some embodiments the distances can be equal between each airmoving device 12. In some embodiments the distance between a first andsecond air moving device 12 can be different than the distance betweenthe second and a third air moving device 12. In some embodiments thedistance between two air moving devices 12 can be approximately 5 feet,10 feet, 15 feet, 20 feet, 25 feet, 30 feet, 35 feet, or any otherdesired distance.

The air moving devices 12 can be angled and/or positioned such that theair flow exiting a first air moving device 12 is directed generallytowards a second air moving device 12 and/or the air flow exiting thesecond air moving device 12. In some embodiments the air flow exitingthe first air moving device 12 and the air flow exiting the second airmoving device 12 are directed generally in the same direction, such thatwhen the air flow exiting the first air moving device 12 reaches the airflow exiting the second air moving device 12, the two air flowsgenerally merge together.

Often times the air flow exiting an air moving device 12 will have ahigher velocity nearest the air moving device 12 from which it left, ascompared with the velocity of the air flow as it moves farther away fromthe air moving device 12. The farther away the air flow is from the airmoving device 12, the more the air flow will slow down. Thus, withreference to FIG. 20, the air moving devices 12 can be arranged suchthat as the air flow of a first air moving device 12 is at least 80% ofits initial velocity, at least 60% of its initial velocity, at least 40%of its initial velocity, at least 20% of its initial velocity, or atleast 10% of its initial velocity before the airflow of the first airmoving device 12 encounters and/or is accelerated into the highervelocity air flow created by a second air moving device 12. Desirably,the second air moving device accelerates the air to at least 120%, atleast 140%, 160%, 200%, 300%, 400%, 500% of the velocity of the air flowwhen the air flow from the first air moving device encounters and/or isaccelerated into the higher velocity air flow created by a second airmoving device 12. In this manner, the second air moving device 12 actsto cascade the air from the first air moving device 12, and to continueto push it along with the air flow from the second air moving device 12.In some embodiments, at least a portion of the air flow from the firstair moving device 12 also enters the second air moving device 12, and isdirected back out the second air moving device 12 at a higher velocity.Thus, both the second air moving device 12, as well as its exiting airflow, can be used to propel the air flow from the first air movingdevice 12. With a plurality of air moving devices 12 working in concert,a cascading effect can be achieved, in which the air moving devices 12work together to move air. This cascading effect can advantageously beused to create a continuous movement of air throughout long stretches ofspace. This continuous movement of air can help to ventilate, clean,cool, and/or prevent stale air pockets from building up over time.

While the air moving devices 12 can be used within buildings, they canalso be used outdoors. For example, people are often required to standin long lines at amusement parks or other locations. The long lines canextend partially within a building, and/or outside a building. Heat canbuild up over time, making people uncomfortable as they wait, as canpockets of stale air. Thus, a plurality of air moving devices 12 can bearranged and/or mounted outdoors as well, to help cool and/or removepockets of stale air.

With reference to FIGS. 21-23, in some embodiments a plurality of airmoving devices 12 can be arranged, for example, to move cool air from afirst location into a second location. For example, cool air can bemoved from a street level location to a subway or train stationterminal. As illustrated in FIGS. 21-23, the air moving devices 12 canbe spaced apart and angled such that a continuous airflow is createdwithin the terminal. The continuous airflow can direct air down fromstreet level towards the platform level of the terminal (see FIGS. 21,23), then generally parallel to a train or train track along theplatform (see FIG. 23), and finally back up from the platform level tothe street level again (see FIGS. 22, 23). The air flow devices 12 canwork in concert to create the continuous airflow, helping to cool thesubway or train station terminal, and/or to eliminate pockets of staleair that have built up within the terminal. This cascading movement ofair can especially be useful at night, when the air at the street levelis cool, and fresh. During night, when there are fewer people, and thetrains are not running, the air moving devices 12 can be operated athigh speeds to help quickly cool the terminal area, and then be run atlower speeds during the daytime when the people in the terminal area.

With reference to FIG. 24, in some embodiments a plurality of air movingdevices 12 can also be arranged such that some of the air moving devices12 are angled to direct air in a cascading manner as described above,whereas other air moving devices 12 are angled to direct air downwardly.This arrangement of air moving devices 12 can advantageously be used incommercial areas, such as grocery stores. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 24, air can be directed in through a roof unit 164. Once the air isinside the building (e.g. grocery store), the air moving devices 12 canpick up the air and move it in a cascading manner within the store tocool and/or eliminate pockets of stale air. Some of the air movingdevices 12 can be angled so as to direct the air in a downward manner,cooling areas such as aisles or other portions of the store that mayneed to be cooled. This combination of cascading and downward coolingcan help to keep the store as fresh, and comfortable, as possible.

Additionally, moving air laterally and in a cascading manner canadvantageously be used where it is not possible to use ductwork toachieve the same purpose, or where ductwork would be too expensive ortoo large. For example, often the clearance within a commercial ormanufacturing building's roof is not suitable for use of ductwork. Theductwork for such buildings can be costly, and can incorporate multiplepipes or other structures which accumulate losses. Ductwork is alsooften not available for areas in which people are waiting in line (e.g.waiting to get into rides as described above). In some large industrialbuildings, manufacturing processes such as blow molding are used. Theseprocesses generate large amounts of heat (e.g. in the form of a heatplume) that need to be moved to other areas of the building to preventelectronics in the area (e.g. near the ceiling) from melting and/orotherwise being damaged. In these areas ductwork is also often notappropriate because the runs may be 500 feet or more. The ductwork wouldneed to be very large, and the motors would need to be very large aswell in order to move propel the air, resulting in high cost.Additionally, the ceilings of these buildings are often filled withconveyers and other objects that would make such large ductworkunfeasible. Thus, using a plurality of air moving devices 12, whichcascade the air as described above, would be advantageous alternativesfor ductwork in these and the other structures and setting describedabove.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degreeof particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has beenmade by way of example and that changes in details of structure may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof.

1. A cascading assembly for moving air, the assembly comprising: a firstair moving device and a second air moving device, both the first airmoving device and second air moving device each comprising: a housing, arotary fan mounted in said housing, and a plurality of spaced, axiallyextending air guide vanes in said housing; wherein at least a portion ofan air flow from the first air moving device enters the second airmoving device to create a cascading effect.
 2. The assembly of claim 1,wherein the second air moving device accelerates the air flow to atleast 120% of a velocity of the portion of the air flow entering thesecond air moving device.
 3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the firstair moving device is positioned such that the air flow exiting the firstair moving device is directed generally towards the second air movingdevice.
 4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the air flow exiting thefirst air moving device and air flow exiting the second air movingdevice are directed generally in the same direction, such that when theair flow exiting the first air moving device reaches the air flowexiting the second air moving device, the two air flows generally mergetogether.
 5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the air flow exiting thefirst air moving device and air flow exiting the second air movingdevice are directed generally in different directions.
 6. The assemblyof claim 1, wherein the first and second air moving devices are locatedwithin buildings.
 7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the first andsecond air moving devices are located outdoors.
 8. The assembly of claim1, wherein at least some of the first air moving devices and/or at leastsome of the second air moving devices are located in one or more of thefollowing locations: a commercial area, a grocery store, an amusementpark, a street, a subway station, and a train station.
 9. The assemblyof claim 1, further comprising more than two air moving devices.
 10. Theassembly of claim 8, further comprising ten or more air moving devices.11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the more than two air movingdevices are arranged to move air along a run of 500 feet or more.
 12. Amethod of moving air comprising: producing an air flow through ahousing; directing the air flow through the housing in a laminar andaxial flow; exiting the air flow from the housing through an outlet; andproducing a columnar pattern of the air flow exiting the outlet.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising converting a rotary component ofthe air flow within the housing into the laminar and axial air flow inthe housing.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: directingwarm air from near a ceiling toward a floor, allowing heat from the warmair to be stored in the floor, in articles on the floor, or in earthunder the floor.
 15. The method of claim 12, further comprisingdirecting air in a generally horizontal direction to allow penetrationof an air space in a container, trailer truck or a room to promoteflushing of air space and circulation thereof.
 16. The method of claim12, further comprising destratifying an air temperature gradient.